Flooded by dozens of green and cool-blue stage lights, the 2,500-square-foot stage at The Music Hall looks like a platform fit for even the most lauded rockers. Constructed by musicians, for musicians, The Music Hall contains an acoustically treated live room and production stage equipped with side-fill monitors, a mixing console, and an outboard system with equalizers and effects. A professional lighting system allows whoever is using the space to customize the look to their act, making it an ideal venue for musical shows, special events, and performances. The Music Hall also boasts a school staffed by professional musicians who conduct lessons in voice, piano, guitar, bass, and drums, as well as workshops for subjects such as songwriting and music theory.

Experienced DJs at the Orange County Turntable Institute guide hands across vinyl grooves and turntable knobs in an introductory course on resuscitating party pulses. Each class positions neophytes behind beat-blazoning equipment for hands-on instruction in basic mixing, blending, cueing, and scratching techniques. In addition to learning the basics of how records work and listening for certain sounds, students absorb DJ culture from its dizzying history to its increasingly digitized future. Instructors DJ Artistic, DJ PNutz, and Tyler Olson impart their wisdom onto record rookies through a structured curriculum driven by transparent tasks and goals. Class sizes of no more than eight ensure individualized attention, preventing all manner of party foul from entering the mix. Newly initiated DJs can move on to take more advanced classes at the institute when Course 1 is complete, as each level builds toward a cumulative crescendo of spinning virtuosity. Students should call to set up a session at a convenient time; classes are offered from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

With only two years of piano lessons under her belt, 9-year-old Kim Gardner was talented enough to perform for the National Federation of Music. Other instruments come just as naturally to her—now in her 30s, she's taught voice, guitar, and piano for more than seven years. Along with a team of equally experienced instructors, Kim teaches students through The Music Adobe, named for its personalized private lessons that take place inside students' homes. The experienced instructors have all been carefully screened and selected to ensure the highest quality of music education and experience possible. The Music Abode's personalized approach and open teaching philosophy allows instructors to tailor instruction to each individual's different style of learning.
For beginners, Kim and the team imparts the fundamentals by honing in on skills such as sight-reading and playing basic chords. With intermediate and advanced students, they focuses on more complex symphony pieces, and suggests ways to avoid laughing at conductors when they start waving their little sticks. They prepares every student to participate in semiannual recitals, where pupils can show off their newfound chops for family and friends.

From 18 studios scattered around Los Angeles, Lori Moran Music Studios’ armada of instructors offers all-ages voice, piano, guitar, violin, and composition classes. With teachers who have worked on films such as Dreamgirls and Dance Flick, world-touring operatic productions, and Grammy-nominated choral CDs, the school can cater to virtually every musical taste—from classical to jazz to pop. Students choose the emphasis of their lessons, whether they want to work on their public performance skills, write their own songs, sight-read scores, or simply be able to play musical chairs during a power outage. Many will also get the chance to show off in recitals, concerts, and showcases.

Classically trained in piano and French horn, David Rothschild showcases his skills in ensembles throughout Southern California, including the Los Angeles Police Department Band. But when he's not onstage, David focuses on nurturing budding pianists and brass players during in-home lessons or sessions at his eponymous studio.
Drawing on more than 20 years of tickling the ivories, David trains piano players of all ages in everything from finding notes on the keyboard to playing short sonatas. He takes a similar approach to brass, helping horn and trumpet players master proper fingerings and trombonists refine their slide positions. Regardless of their instrument, David also teaches pupils to read music, a more convenient alternative to hiring someone to whisper every note to you.